REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- International law professor Hikmahanto Juwana of the University of Indonesia has come up with three steps to handle 600 boat people stranded in Derawan waters, East Kalimantan.

"To solve this problem, there are a number steps that can be taken," he said in press release here on Wednesday (3/12).

According to Hikmahanto, the first step is that law enforcers, police and immigration officials in particular, should find out whether or not they are traditional fishermen. We should ensure they are not people under traditional-fishermen cover or they are traditional fishermen organized by a mafia.

"This must be ensured, because if they really are traditional fishermen, then the government can release them. Traditional fishermen can fish anywhere and without any restriction of state water boundaries," he said.

Hikmahanto stated that traditional fishermen can fish within certain limits to feed their families. Traditional fishermen do not catch particular variety of fish and sell them to traders waiting at the Indonesian water borders.

The second step is to verify their citizenships; passports should not be considered for reference. They should be interrogated about their origin states and what languages they speak, he pointed out.

Once their origins and languages are known, the government can ask embassies to verify their citizenships.

"Indonesia can then ask the governments of the countries they come from to finance their repatriation and sink the boats they have used," he added.

The third step is to ensure that the state budget is not burdened by providing them with food and other necessities. So, the government should soon decide their status. If they are traditional fishermen, they should be allowed to continue sailing.

Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Indroyono Soesilo acknowledged he had not yet found any solution to the 600 boat people stranded in Derawan waters, Berau, East Kalimantan, because they were not carrying any document to show their identities or countries of origin.

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